This invention relates to expanded foam and will have application to a vinyl foam tape which is particularly useful in securing plastics to a substrate.
Expanded foam spacers and tapes are particularly useful in many widely diverse applications involving glass windows, mirrors, skylights and other products. Spacers also have application in bulk shipping of glass products particularly windshields as described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,404, issued Feb. 21, 1989. Tapes are particularly useful in securing windows and skylights to a support frame.
With the advent of polycarbonate and acrylic substitutes for glass products, particularly skylights, a new expanded vinyl foam had to be developed. The vinyl foams currently on the market are unsuitable for use with plastics, such as acrylic and polycarbonate, due to the foam's tendency to crack or craze the plastic surface as the foam plasticizers migrate to the surface. Further, a common problem with current foams is the marring (or shadowing) of the plastic surface when the foam is removed. These problems are inherent to plastics primarily due to their tendency to absorb and retain (moisture) plasticizers from the vinyl foam at a much higher rate than glass.